Galway Experts React to Historic Gains for Democrats in US Midterms
Image by Yamu Jay from Pixabay
By Matthew Coggins
Democrats seized control of both chambers of Congress in the 2026 US midterm elections with, growing dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy, immigration and fuel prices contributing to Republican losses.
On 3 November, Americans went to the polls in what has been described as a referendum on Trump’s presidency.
Democrats seeking to take control of America’s legislative branch needed a net gain of four seats in the Senate and a majority of 218 seats in the House. Both goals were met late Tuesday night.
Seven Senate seats were flipped in favour of the Democrats, who will hold at least 54 seats in the 100-member Senate come January 2027. Crucial victories for the party in Texas, Kansas, Ohio, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, and South Carolina have been attributed to dissatisfaction with Trump and his policies.
Larry Donnelly, an attorney and law lecturer at the University of Galway, said the election “was very much a referendum on Donald Trump, and the American people are not happy – especially when it comes to the cost of living, the war in Iran, his overreach on immigration, and a lot of the corruption that they see.”
He continued: “I think people got sick of Trump, even people who voted for him, and I think that they wanted to send a big message. Democrats had a great evening across the board and competed in places where they really by right should never be able to compete in.”
Kevin Leyden, a Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Galway, offered further explanations for Republican losses.
“The president’s party tends to do worse during the midterms,” he said. “The more popular the incumbent president is, the better his party does in the midterms. We know that Trump is not popular. His approval ratings are somewhere in the mid-30s, which is fairly low. His unpopularity will hurt his party.”
He continued: “What’s really unique about this election is that the economy is being directly connected to the policies of Trump.”
Professor Leyden pointed to the war in Iran, tariffs, and ICE raids as factors contributing to wider dissatisfaction with Trump’s policies.
As of 4 November, petrol prices were averaging $4.12 per gallon, or €0.97 per litre. The increase has been linked to oil shortages caused by the US-Israeli war in Iran.
The scale of the Democratic victory was particularly evident in Republican strongholds.
Democrats did unusually well in Texas, a state where a Democrat had not won a Senate seat since 1988. The last time Kansas elected a Democratic senator was in 1932, highlighting the scale of the party’s gains in traditionally Republican states.
As of Wednesday, Senate races in Alaska and deep-red Mississippi remained too close to call as votes continued to be counted.
Historic firsts
Beyond the scale of the Democratic victory, this year’s midterms also produced a series of historic firsts in congressional and governor elections.
Keisha Lance Bottoms was elected the first Black female governor in US history. Her victory in Georgia came over Republican billionaire Rick Jackson.
Deb Haaland was elected America’s first female Native American governor, while Peggy Flanagan became the first Native American woman elected to the Senate.
New Hampshire’s Chris Pappas became the first openly gay man elected to the US Senate, while Abdul El-Sayed won a closely contested race in Michigan and will represent the state as the nation’s first Muslim senator.
Despite the scale of the Democratic victory, questions remain over how the party will utilise its control of Congress ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
Mr Donnelly concluded: “The race for the White House starts today. This is a significant moment in time, no doubt about it, but politics will keep going. We’ll see how the democrats deal with their new success and whether they handle it and use it skilfully, or whether they squander it.”
